


(i'll always be) in love

by haengbokhaeya (shinybicho)



Series: festival of fools [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Awkward Crush, Bachelor Auction, Fluff, Haunted Houses, M/M, School Festivals, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, except they're students, others are mentioned - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 15:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15732552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinybicho/pseuds/haengbokhaeya
Summary: “Just a reminder that you’re paying for two hours, ladies, gents, and other folks! I’m sure Kwon Soonyoungie could make it worth your while!”





	(i'll always be) in love

**Author's Note:**

> dedicated to all the stressed carats out there. i hope this made you smile somehow. ♥

Well, _now_ he had reason to be nervous. It might have been justified. A few hours ago, he had been waiting in line to _kiss_ his crush and instead got pulled in _by_ his said crush and gaped like an idiot before walking away only to be caught by his seniors. Eventually, he was pushed onto a stage and someone was yelling, “Fifteen thousand won!”

“Fifteen thousand! Do I hear twenty?”

Soonyoung stood in the middle of the stage, frozen with his hands glued to his sides. He blinked the bright spotlight focused on him and concentrated on the voices screaming numbers.

“Just a reminder that you’re paying for two hours, ladies, gents, and other folks! I’m sure Kwon Soonyoungie could make it worth your while!”

Soonyoung looked at the host, their advisor in their club. “Seonsaeng-nim,” Soonyoung said, stepping a bit closer to the corner of the stage, “are you even _allowed_ to do this?”

Their teacher covered the microphone, ignoring the audience for a moment, “well, we did get permission from the deans and we can’t _not_ auction your seniors so yes. Besides, you’re not leaving the school grounds and if you do _something_ while in the school grounds that’s against the school code, well… make sure you don’t get caught.”

If Soonyoung was honest, she was a pretty crazy professor but of course, he couldn’t tell her that. To her face, anyway.

“Twenty five! Do I hear a thirty? Thirty to the gentlemen at the back corner!”

“Hyung, what the _fuck_?” Soonyoung yelled, squinting his eyes to see Seungcheol and Jeonghan waving at him. Jihoon was there, between them, wearing a different t-shirt than from what he wore in the kissing booth. Soonyoung couldn’t quite see his face, but he was _sure_ it was Jihoon.

“Forty! Do we have forty five?” Seungcheol raised his hand. “Forty five thousand won! I must say, Soonyoung-ah, you’re quite popular!”

Soonyoung couldn’t understand, however, _why_ Seungcheol was bidding. This was two hours of escorting someone around the festival. Maybe they would play some games at the makeshift arcade, or ride the pretty professional ferris wheel. They were _friends_. They constantly hung out with each other so _why_ was Seungcheol bidding?

Behind Seungcheol, when the spotlight stopped being so harsh, Junhui, Minghao, Jisoo, and Chan were there. A flush rose up Soonyoung’s cheeks in embarrassment. He was sure his friends would have teased him for this.

But wait a second… “Why aren’t Junhui and Minghao here? They’re part of the club too!”

Their club advisor covered the microphone again. “Junhui bought Minghao on stage. It was all ridiculous and there were some scuffles and complaints but Minghao’s pretty sly so everyone just went along with it in the end.” She removed her hand from the microphone and addressed the crowd. “Forty five, going once!”

There was an evil smile on Seungcheol’s face when Soonyoung’s advisor yelled out ‘twice!’ into the microphone. Soonyoung watched as Jeonghan held down Jihoon’s shoulders and Seungcheol whispered something in Jihoon’s ear. Jihoon’s eyes grew wide and he whipped his head, almost knocking Jeonghan on the chin.

“SOLD to the gentlemen at the back corner! Next up we have the lovely--and excited--Joo Kyulkyung!” Soonyoung’s head snapped at their advisor as Joo Kyulkyung, a freshman, hopped right next to him happily. The bid began and Soonyoung was escorted down the stage by another professor. At the bottom of the stage, right behind the backdrop, Seungcheol and Jeonghan, along with Junhui, Minghao, Jisoo, and Chan in toll, pushed Jihoon to stand in front of Soonyoung.

Oh _god_ he was nervous again.

The professor that led Soonyoung down and backstage nodded to Seungcheol, who gave a knowingly smug smile.

“Seonsaeng-nim,” Seungcheol said in a dangerously light tone, “Jeonghan and I forgot that we have something to do and I’m pretty sure so do the rest of our group. Since we donated as a group, Soonyoung could escort our Jihoonie instead!”

The professor’s face changed slightly, confused at what Seungcheol said. But Jeonghan waved it away by continuing for Seungcheol, “Our Jihoonie just finished a shift for his own club and we thought that it’d be nice if he tried out the actual festival. But we _just_ remembered that we all have our own plans so our Jihoonie’s really the only one free in our group of friends. Since we all donated for Soonyoung’s time, we all agreed that Jihoonie could take him.”

If looks could kill, Jeonghan and Seungcheol would have been six feet under. Alas, the professor seemed too distracted and tired to even question the logic and nodded, clapping Soonyoung on the shoulder before getting back to his station at the corner of the stage to wait for the other dance student to come down.

“Hyung, what in the--”

“Gotta go, Soonyoung!” Seungcheol interrupted as he pushed everyone else but Jeonghan and Jihoon away.

“You know how it is,” Jeonghan said over his shoulder as he walked beside Seungcheol, “we gotta do what we gotta do. See ‘ya!”

Then suddenly they were hidden in the crowds. Junhui’s head could still be seen, right next to--Soonyoung would assume to be--Minghao. Jisoo and Chan walked further front, though Soonyoung could hardly see them anymore.

There was a thick, awkward silence between them. Soonyoung was sure it was noticeable despite the yells of the bids and the cheers from the crowd. It was tense and quite frankly, suffocating.

He opened his mouth to suggest that they don’t have to do this before he closed it and swallowed, nervous. If Jihoon was uncomfortable, Soonyoung could just hide somewhere because Soonyoung realized with painful epiphany that this would be the first time they were alone _together_. Sure there were times when someone else was with them, one or two of their friends, but this was _the first time_.

Soonyoung wiped his palms on his pants again, ignoring the heat from the vicinity. He racked his brain for _something_ to say that wasn’t dismissive or that would expose his newfound realization of _feelings_. Instead, he saw Jihoon pointing a thumb over his shoulder, “Wanna grab something to eat?”

 _God_ Lee Jihoon was so goddamn _perfect_.

The crowd was a little on the ‘too many to move’ side. They kept bumping someone else’s shoulders even when Soonyoung nudged Jihoon in front of him. After a while and the feeling of a lot of bruises forming, Jihoon reached behind without looking at Soonyoung and grasped at his wrist.

Jihoon checked at the wrist he held and pulled insistently until they were able to leave the crowd. He and Soonyoung stepped aside, closer to a department building entrance. They caught their breath since the air was thin within the crowd and they watched as people passed by.

Down the hall, inside the department building, a muffled scream had reached their ears. Soonyoung’s eyes grew wide as he and Jihoon popped their head in.

There was a long line in the hallway right in front of someone at a makeshift desk. Seokmin sat and greeted the guests, spreading his arm wide to indicate that they were welcome to enter. The screams grew louder as a few couples and pairs stumbled out. A hand reached outside from the classroom, bloody and wounded.

A shiver ran down Soonyoung’s spine. Of all the freaking people, _Lee Seokmin_ handled the entrance fee of a _haunted house_. Jihoon walked towards the receiving booth only beside Seokmin. Naturally, Soonyoung followed although he had an inkling about what was going to happen.

“Hyungs! Please take note of the signs!” True enough, there was a sign hung in front of it and on the table top.

_Those with a weak heart and those who are pregnant are discouraged from entering the haunted house! There are students and medics on stand by just in case._

Jihoon turned and blinked up at Soonyoung. It shouldn’t have been as cute as it was because Jihoon’s face was as blank as a canvass. But it was. It was so freaking cute that Soonyoung found himself in line _again_ only he was _beside_ his crush to enter a haunted house instead of waiting to _kiss_ him.

Soonyoung decided, hands down, waiting in line to kiss his crush was way better. Even if he _was_ beside him.

The screams caused him to jump every time as they took a step closer to the entrance. The huge smile on Seokmin’s face never wavered and it even grew at one point or two. It was so sadistic despite the smile being so bright, Soonyoung never knew Seokmin had that streak.

“Why are you enjoying this,” Soonyoung asked as soon as they stopped right in front, waiting for some customers to exit, “you _hate_ haunted houses.”

“Better you than me, hyung,” Seokmin said, checking behind when the door opened and the voices (crying) were no longer muffled, “thank you for your patronage!”

With a sweep of his arm, Jihoon held Soonyoung’s elbow as they walked inside.

It was dark. Of _course_ it was dark. With freaky red tinted lights at the corners to highlight the scenery. Blood, probably. Soonyoung bent his knees in an attempt to not fall over and faint. He felt the grip on his elbow tighten, gently tugging as they made their way past the ‘foyer’.

It took him about a minute to breath before he was able to move again. Jihoon’s hold on his wrist was steady and firm. He tensed every time something jumped out or someone ahead or behind of them screamed. His eyes were tightly closed, his hands clutched onto Jihoon’s shoulder, pushing close as if the mere proximity would shield them from whatever was going to jump out of them next.

“Hyung!” A big, bright voice boomed in front of them and appeared a tall, bleeding man with a lost limb.

Jihoon was quick to kick him on the shin.

“Ow!” The voice said, bending over to hold his injured leg, whining, “hyung, it’s me! Mingyu!”

“That’s not a good way to run the haunted house,” Jihoon said, deadpan. Soonyoung’s grip was tight and his heart raced. He shuffled closer to Jihoon, peeking over his shoulder even though Soonyoung was considerably taller. “Don’t introduce yourself to customers, Mingyu.”

The corner of Soonyoung’s lips twitched into a smile. His heart was starting to slow down until he took a deep breath and got a whiff of Jihoon’s shampoo. His heart started pumping faster again. Almost too fast, that it made him feel lightheaded and sick to the stomach.

Mingyu pouted at them. The resulting face did nothing to distract Soonyoung from the fake blood and bruises. It made Soonyoung’s stomach queasy but smelling Jihoon’s shampoo made butterflies appear so he was in a bit of a dilemma.

“Uh, Jihoon-hyung,” Mingyu called carefully, standing up as if nothing happened, “Soonyoung-hyung looks like he’s gonna faint.”

Jihoon turned, adding to Soonyoung’s queasiness due to the sudden movement. A pair of hands moved him around like a mannequin, strong and sturdy with a few rough touches against his skin until he was leaning almost all of his weight against Jihoon.

“I think the other ghosts are too busy with the other guests so you’ll probably survive exiting safely. Bye, hyungs! Hope your date goes well!”

The light outside the hall felt like heaven when they made their exit although it burned through Soonyoung’s eyelids. Slowly, he pulled himself out of that hazy corner of his mind until he was able to look up without swallowing any nasty bile.

The next thing he knew, he sat down on a bench where the sun was hot but the wind was cool on his skin. Soon, he was breathing smoothly, his heart in steady beats. Jihoon sat beside him, their shoulders only shy of touching. But the presence was warm and it helped calm Soonyoung down faster.

“Some date, huh,” Jihoon said with a smile at the corner of his lips.

“Really not into haunted houses though,” Soonyoung replied, looking at the far horizon, Jihoon’s words not sinking in properly until a minute had passed, “wait, _what_?”

Soonyoung turned. Jihoon’s ears were bright pink, and his cheeks dusted ever so lightly and it made him look soft. Carefully, Jihoon looked at Soonyoung but it seemed more like staring at his forehead than directly into Soonyoung’s eyes. Jihoon shrugged his shoulders and turned to face the open area. Students and other guests trickled in and out of the building, the crowd getting just a little smaller. The wind was light, but enough to not feel too hot and humid. It was almost a romantic type of weather.

Soonyoung’s brain still wasn’t processing properly though. He was staring at Jihoon who, in turn, was avoiding his eyes. Or face. Or him, in general.

Jihoon stood abruptly, his voice was garbling. It might have been something along the lines of finding the rest or buying food but Soonyoung only did what he first thought to do. Soonyoung grabbed Jihoon’s wrist and it was all so dramatic. A real drama-worthy scene if Soonyoung could say so himself. But his brain wasn’t thinking at the moment, shut down and only moving instinctively. He knew all too well that if they didn’t talk about this, they would never talk about it at all. (Seungcheol was right; they’ve been classmates for most of the school year, friends for at least half that, they’ve barely talked and he rarely even _looked_ at him.)

“What did you mean,” Soonyoung said, though his tongue felt heavy and too thick inside his mouth, “by ‘some date’? Jihoon-ah.”

Blood rushed up Jihoon’s cheeks. If it were any normal situation, Soonyoung would have delighted in seeing Jihoon’s cheeks change from a pale color to the pinkish hue it was then. (Soonyoung was sure that Wonwoo would have had an earful and Soonyoung would have ended up with a bruise, really.)

“I _like_ you, okay?” Jihoon said, forcefully. His wrist was still in Soonyoung’s grip and he was _still_ avoiding Soonyoung’s face. “I knew Seungcheol and the others were fucking around but I really thought this was nice. I didn’t care that it was paid for, I really, _really fucking like_ \--!!”

Soonyoung pulled the wrist he was holding at the same time he stood up from the bench. He was dizzy again but for a whole different reason. He cupped Jihoon’s cheek and held it steady before he kissed him. He kissed him again, this time, square on the lips. It was softer against his own rather than the corner of his mouth. It didn’t send fireworks but it filled him with happiness he could not describe and yet he’s willing to write a thousand words to try.

He doesn’t go further than that because he knew he didn’t need to just then. The kiss was simple, but that was all they needed.

Jihoon’s eyes were closed when Soonyoung pulled away. Soonyoung badly wanted to kiss him again but he decided to caress Jihoon’s cheek instead. His other hand continued to hold Jihoon’s wrist and his thumb caressed the inside. It was slow and comfortable, but their hearts were racing. Jihoon’s cheeks were a darker shade of pink, reaching the tips of his ears. Soonyoung could hear their heartbeats one after the other. It synced before it fell out of beat and then suddenly, it was like they were answering each other, complimenting each other.

“Jihoon-ah,” Soonyoung said, the tips of their noses nearly still pressing against each other, a bright smile on his lips, “I really, _really_ fucking like you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> god this took TOO LONG TO WRITE AND IT'S LONGER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE but anyway this is the soonhoon sequel. the next would be jeongcheol, meanie, junhao, verkwan, and a general fic with josh, seok, and chan.
> 
> title from seventeen's [hello](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoQxxYk6Xz0)
> 
> ANYWAY TALK TO ME: [personal twt](http://twitter.com/shinybicho) | [fanfiction twt](https://twitter.com/haengbokhaeya) | [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/shinybicho)


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